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maddezmom

(135,060 posts)
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 06:44 PM Nov 2013

Pilot: Passenger fell out of plane; Miami offshore search continues

Source: Miami Herald

A manhunt and homicide investigation continued Thursday afternoon after a pilot reported that a passenger fell from a small plane flying over the Atlantic east of Key Biscayne.

The investigation began about 1:30 p.m. after a pilot who’d taken off from Kendall-Tamiami Executive Airport in a Piper PA 46 issued an emergency radio call, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! I have a door ajar and I’m heading toward Tamiami,” the pilot calmly said. “I have a door ajar and a passenger that fell down. I’m six miles from Tamiami.”

“You said you’ve got a passenger that fell out of your plane?” an air traffic controller asks.

“That’s correct, sir,” the pilot responded. “He opened the backdoor and he just fell out the plane.”

The pilot landed safely at Tamiami airport, at which point he requested emergency services for the passenger and the FAA contacted the U.S. Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, according to agency spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and police then announced they were investigating the incident, and searching for the passenger with helicopters and marine patrol.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3753180/pilots-mayday-call-spurs-miami.html#storylink=cpy

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/11/14/3753180/pilots-mayday-call-spurs-miami.html

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Pilot: Passenger fell out of plane; Miami offshore search continues (Original Post) maddezmom Nov 2013 OP
Maybe it's just me but something very fishy about this story..We'll see I guess...n/t monmouth3 Nov 2013 #1
Agree maddezmom Nov 2013 #2
Mayday, Mayday…I pushed her out and left the door ajar? Too early to get that deep, for me. silvershadow Nov 2013 #9
any info on the passenger and how many others were on the plane ? JI7 Nov 2013 #3
Not so far maddezmom Nov 2013 #6
Newer info here...pilot and man that fell out were only people on the plane maddezmom Nov 2013 #8
Hmmmmmm......... 7962 Nov 2013 #4
Very strange.... A door in flight is pretty difficult to open groundloop Nov 2013 #5
copycat of this? from Nov 5th mockmonkey Nov 2013 #7
That's what I think, too. marble falls Nov 2013 #12
"That's correct, sir. He opened the back door and he just fell out the plane." toby jo Nov 2013 #10
How in the world did this happen ? In_The_Wind Nov 2013 #11
Piper PA-46 Earth_First Nov 2013 #13
The Piper Malibu has a split door arrangement.... Capt.Rocky300 Nov 2013 #15
Is it possible it could come open while banking? Ash_F Nov 2013 #16
Extremely unlikely due to the aerodynamic forces exerted by banking the airplane in the turn..... Capt.Rocky300 Nov 2013 #17
Consider also that it's a pretty tight cabin....... Capt.Rocky300 Nov 2013 #18
So there is an 'autopilot' system feature? Earth_First Nov 2013 #19
The Malibu has an excellent autopilot and in an aircraft...... Capt.Rocky300 Nov 2013 #20
Drug Drop????? N/T catnhatnh Nov 2013 #14
Maybe someone traded in his boat for the Piper? Sedona Nov 2013 #21
I worked at that airport as a teen sanding paint off wings.. BadGimp Nov 2013 #22
Body found in Miami likely passenger who fell from small plane: police Eugene Nov 2013 #23
 

silvershadow

(10,336 posts)
9. Mayday, Mayday…I pushed her out and left the door ajar? Too early to get that deep, for me.
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:18 PM
Nov 2013

Hopefully he is just a distressed pilot of an unusual incident. Time will tell though.

maddezmom

(135,060 posts)
6. Not so far
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:09 PM
Nov 2013

Coast Guard and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue air and water units were searching an area about eight miles southeast of Tamiami Executive Airport, south of Miami, where the plane safely landed. It wasn't immediately clear where the flight originated or how many people were on board.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/14/faa-florida-passenger/3538233/

groundloop

(11,487 posts)
5. Very strange.... A door in flight is pretty difficult to open
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:06 PM
Nov 2013

To open a door in flight wide enough for a person to fit through would require a hell of a lot of force, unless that plane was equipped with a jump door (for parachuting).

Suicide maybe?

mockmonkey

(2,778 posts)
7. copycat of this? from Nov 5th
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:11 PM
Nov 2013


A passenger in a helicopter flying over the Newport Beach shoreline Tuesday opened the door and jumped out, falling about 500 feet to the ocean, authorities said.

The man later died at a local hospital.

Newport Beach police are investigating the 60-year-old man’s death as a possible suicide. The Federal Aviation Administration is also reviewing the incident.

The man had apparently booked a 30-minute coastal tour for two people but showed up alone, said Chuck Street, a longtime helicopter pilot whose son was flying the chopper. The man paid $310 in advance for the flight.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-passenger-jumped-from-tour-helicopter-dies-20131105,0,363025.story#axzz2kfFh5VXG
 

toby jo

(1,269 posts)
10. "That's correct, sir. He opened the back door and he just fell out the plane."
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:22 PM
Nov 2013

Not the kind of thing any pilot would expect to be putting out on the airwaves. Hell, that's a 'holy shit' moment from here, never mind the cockpit ~

Earth_First

(14,910 posts)
13. Piper PA-46
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 07:51 PM
Nov 2013


This doesn't seem like the type of aircraft that a pilot could leave the controls in order to open a door, struggle with someone, and toss them out.

Anyone with aviation experience able to lend some perspective?

Capt.Rocky300

(1,005 posts)
15. The Piper Malibu has a split door arrangement....
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 08:26 PM
Nov 2013

with the top half opening upward for headroom and the bottom with built in steps dropping down to allow people to enter and exit. This is a pressurized aircraft so the doors have a very stout locking mechanism. It would take a concerted effort to unlock and open the doors in the slipstream but it can be done. Certainly not by accident though. I would like to know if the bottom half was still open during landing as it would be difficult to touch down and not have the door hit the runway. If it wasn't open that means the pilot put the aircraft on autopilot and went back and closed it. There is a lot of information missing in this early stage.

Ash_F

(5,861 posts)
16. Is it possible it could come open while banking?
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 08:37 PM
Nov 2013

Like if the passenger lost balance and slammed into it?

Capt.Rocky300

(1,005 posts)
17. Extremely unlikely due to the aerodynamic forces exerted by banking the airplane in the turn.....
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 09:01 PM
Nov 2013

In a banked turn, you could take off your seatbelt sitting next to an open door and not fall out. Slamming into it might cause it but with the doors secured and locked it is still unlikely.

Capt.Rocky300

(1,005 posts)
18. Consider also that it's a pretty tight cabin.......
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 09:09 PM
Nov 2013

with no room for an adult to stand or walk around. You can change seats with someone else but it's a bent at the waist dance with lots of physical contact.

Capt.Rocky300

(1,005 posts)
20. The Malibu has an excellent autopilot and in an aircraft......
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 09:27 PM
Nov 2013

this sophisticated it is almost a necessity for single pilot operation. Workload in high density environments can become overwhelming.

Sedona

(3,769 posts)
21. Maybe someone traded in his boat for the Piper?
Thu Nov 14, 2013, 10:18 PM
Nov 2013

(Sorry I grew up in South Florida and this weird shit happens almost daily. Its hard not to just laugh it off after a while)



BadGimp

(4,009 posts)
22. I worked at that airport as a teen sanding paint off wings..
Fri Nov 15, 2013, 01:47 AM
Nov 2013

the horror... the work hell

Q: how does one FALL from a small plane?

A: one is either pushed or one jumps. you don't fall!

Eugene

(61,592 posts)
23. Body found in Miami likely passenger who fell from small plane: police
Sat Nov 16, 2013, 07:16 PM
Nov 2013

Source: Reuters

Body found in Miami likely passenger who fell from small plane: police

BY NOREEN O'DONNELL
Sat Nov 16, 2013 3:26pm EST

(Reuters) - A body found in Miami on Saturday is likely that of a passenger who plunged from a small private airplane as it flew off the city's coast two days ago, police said.

The body was discovered at about 10:30 a.m. on the ocean side of a mangrove area by the Miami-Dade Police Department's marine units, Detective Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement.

Gerardo Nales, a 42-year-old resident of Key Biscayne, Florida, had been missing since he either jumped or fell into Biscayne Bay during a flight on Thursday afternoon, according to the plane's pilot.

"Even though we presume that the body found is that of Gerardo Nales, investigators are pending 'official identification' from the Medical Examiner's Office," the police statement said.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/11/16/us-usa-aircraft-plunge-idUSBRE9AF0BP20131116
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